Co-designing the changing city: Field Notes from the Advanced Cooperation Mission in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina | 25–28 August 2026

What role can citizens play in shaping the transformation of their own neighbourhoods?

That question ran through the IURC Latin America and the Caribbean Advanced Cooperation Mission in Buenos Aires, bringing together representatives from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Bologna (Italy) as part of the Citizen Participation Community of Practice.

Across four days, the delegation explored how Buenos Aires is integrating citizen participation into urban regeneration processes—from the transformation of former railway land and traffic-dominated streets into new green spaces to the reinvention of its historic city centre. 

Day 1 | From railway land to shared public space

The mission began at the headquarters of the Buenos Aires City Government, with an introduction to the city’s approach to urban regeneration, public space and citizen participation. The institutional exchange continued at the Embassy of Italy in Buenos Aires, where First Secretary Salvatore Scala hosted a reception for the Italian delegation and representatives from the Buenos Aires City Government, providing an additional space to strengthen ties between the institutions involved in the cooperation.

In the afternoon, the discussion moved into the city itself. At Colegiales Railway Park, the delegation explored how former railway yards have been transformed into green public space through a process involving co-design and active citizen participation. The project offered a particularly relevant precedent for another transformation currently being developed in Palermo, showing how community mobilisation can be incorporated into municipal planning and translated into concrete design decisions.

The day ended with an open community meeting in Palermo. Residents, neighbourhood representatives and city officials discussed public space, maintenance and local priorities directly—bringing the delegation into a participatory process as it was happening. Rather than presenting participation as a final consultation exercise, the session illustrated its role as an ongoing negotiation between neighbourhood expectations and broader municipal objectives, including biodiversity, greening and urban permeability.

Day 2 | When urban transformation creates disagreement

The second day explored one of the more difficult dimensions of citizen participation: what happens when people do not initially agree with a proposed transformation?

A visit to the future Palermo Railway Park provided a closer look at the project area, its spatial constraints and the proposed integration of green infrastructure. A subsequent working session brought together city officials, Commune 14 representatives and project teams to discuss the feedback gathered through previous consultation rounds and how it was influencing the evolving proposal.

At MOA – Monumentos y Obras de Arte, the perspective expanded to another component of public-space regeneration: cultural heritage. The delegation explored how Buenos Aires restores and maintains monuments, sculptures and other artistic elements, and how preserving these assets can reinforce identity within changing urban environments.

The afternoon brought the group to Honorio Pueyrredón Linear Park in Caballito, a major street-to-park transformation that had faced resistance from parts of the local community. Its evolution offered an important lesson for both cities. Transforming established urban spaces requires more than a strong design proposal: sustained communication, neighbourhood-level governance and the ability to demonstrate tangible environmental and quality-of-life benefits can be crucial to building support over time.

The exchanges also opened up comparisons with Bologna, allowing both cities to reflect on the challenges they face when introducing new models of public space into established neighbourhoods.

Day 3 | Reinventing the city centre

On the third day, attention shifted to Buenos Aires’ Microcentro. Historically shaped by offices and financial activity, the district faced a profound challenge following the pandemic as new working patterns reduced the intensity of its traditional uses. The delegation explored how Buenos Aires is responding through pedestrianisation, new green corridors, commercial revitalisation and efforts to introduce a more diverse mix of residential, cultural and economic activity. The visit broadened the mission’s discussion from individual public-space interventions to the transformation of an entire central district: how can cities adapt existing urban fabric when the behaviours and functions it was designed around begin to change?

In the afternoon, Buenos Aires and Bologna came together for a bilateral working session focused on their IURC Action Plan. The teams reviewed progress, identified transferable lessons from the mission and worked on the next milestones of their cooperation. The session helped translate what had been observed on the ground into a shared roadmap, reinforcing the connection between practical urban experiences and longer-term peer-to-peer cooperation.

Day 4 | Culture as an engine of urban regeneration

The final day moved south to La Boca, adding culture and heritage to the mission’s exploration of urban transformation.

At Colón Fábrica, the delegation discovered the production and exhibition facilities connected to Teatro Colón, where scenery, costumes and other elements of theatrical production are created and preserved. Beyond its cultural function, the facility offered an example of how the reuse of industrial spaces can create new anchors for activity and contribute to the regeneration of surrounding areas.

A walk through Caminito and Vuelta de Rocha extended the discussion into the streets of La Boca, exploring the relationship between grassroots cultural heritage, tourism, public space and the social realities of a historically complex neighbourhood.

The visit highlighted a final dimension of the week’s discussions: heritage-led regeneration cannot be separated from the communities that inhabit these places. Cultural identity can be a powerful driver of urban transformation, but ensuring that its benefits remain connected to local residents is essential to making that transformation inclusive.

After four days of exchanges, Buenos Aires and Bologna concluded the mission with a broader understanding of participation not as a single methodology, but as a continuous process running through urban transformation—from listening and negotiation to design, implementation and long-term stewardship.

About the IURC LAC Advanced Cooperation Missions

IURC Latin America and the Caribbean, part of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, connects cities and regions from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe to co-create sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven solutions. Through peer-to-peer exchange and partnerships, the programme contributes to improving citizens’ quality of life while strengthening global cooperation.

Advanced Cooperation Missions are on-site technical visits that build on the IURC programme’s collaborative and knowledge-sharing approach. They provide cities and regions with the opportunity to further develop the themes explored during the online meetings of the Communities of Practice, refine their cooperation action plans and gain first-hand experience of best practices implemented by the hosting city or region.